David “Marc” Curtiss

by grizpaperboy on October 3, 2012

David “Marc” Curtiss, 62, died Friday, Sept. 28, 2012, at his home in Fortine. He was born July 6, 1950, to David R. and Aubyn Armstrong Curtiss in Fairbanks, Alaska, where his father was engaged for a time in defense contracting during the Korean War. They moved back to the family home near Fortine where Marc attended school and later graduated from Lincoln County High School in Eureka.

While attending Flathead Community College in Kalispell, Marc worked for Wagner and Campbell Funeral Home before moving on to employment as a manager in a leading restaurant chain.

An attractive opening in property management prompted him to move to Delaware, where he worked with Du Pont interests engaged in renovating historic buildings. He missed the west and after returning to Montana he studied interior design at Spokane Falls College and was employed for a time doing custom work related to that in the Spokane area.

He and Edith Rahlf were married in Coeur D’ Alene, Idaho. They became involved in property management in Spokane, Wash., later transferring with the same company to Bellevue, Wash. It was there that they became interested in owning and operating adult family homes and established three of them in Renton, Wash.

Two children joined the family, David Marc II in 1987 in Spokane and Aubyn Bluette in 1991 in Renton. Although the marriage dissolved in 1995, they remained friends and his children remained the guiding focus of his life. In January 1999, Marc suffered a traumatic brain injury from a fall and until the time of his death he remained in the care of his family on the ranch near Fortine.

Marc had a kind heart and a unique sense of humor. His latter days were spent thanking the Lord for the beautiful place he had to live and enjoying each day and treasuring the love of his children. He will be sorely missed by his family and friends. He was preceded in death by his father, David R. Curtiss.

Survivors include his mother Aubyn A. Curtiss; his sister Sue Curtiss; his brother Gareth Curtiss; and his children David and Aubyn Bluette Curtiss.

Graveside services will be Friday, Oct. 5, at 1 p.m. at the Fortine Community Cemetery in Fortine.